The present invention relates to a surgical instrument, especially but not exclusively for carrying out ophthalmologic procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,302 describes a surgical instrument having a housing which forms a generally cylindrical handpiece and is split longitudinally into two elongate housing parts of substantially semi-circular configuration. The housing parts are pivotally mounted at one end to a support member and acted upon at their other end by a spring element by which the housing parts are urged into a position away from one another. When squeezing the housing parts together, levers, disposed in a forward area of the support member, implement a rotation movement upon an elongate tube as well as upon a shaft coaxially retained in the tube to move jaws of a clamping element or cutting element to one another.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved surgical instrument which obviates prior art shortcomings.